In World War II’s dog-eat-dog struggle for resources, a Greenland mine launched a new world order

In World War II’s dog-eat-dog struggle for resources, a Greenland mine launched a new world order

Greenland's cryolite mine, essential for U.S. airplane production, was below sea level and vulnerable to Nazi sabotage. Reginald Wilcox, ca. 1941. Peary–MacMillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin CollegeOn April 9, 1940, Nazi tanks stormed into Denmark. A month later, they blitzed into Belgium, Holland and France. As Americans grew increasingly rattled by the spreading threat, a surprising place became crucial to U.S. national security: the vast, ice-capp…